


Picnic

by Imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, The Fates hate Nico
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-18 18:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11880687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch/pseuds/Imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch
Summary: Nico tries to plan a romantic picnic for Will. Things go a bit wrong. Fluff.





	1. Picnic

**Author's Note:**

> iPod Shuffle Tuesday: See You Tomorrow - John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon)

I've missed you," Will said. Communication still hadn't stabilised, and the iris message was flickering and faltering.

"We've been fine here," Nico said. "Had loads of fun. You know the old saying: when the Head Counsellor is away -"

Will laughed.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he said.

Will had been visiting family for a couple of weeks. It felt like a lifetime. Not that Nico had noticed Will’s absence, and if he was now frantically trying to tidy up and plan a nice picnic for his boyfriend's return, that was only because he was trying to prove to Will that he had been completely fine.

Except things weren’t exactly completely fine.

He probably shouldn’t have asked Lou Ellen to find, or make, him fairy lights. The loud bangs, mystic chanting, and muffled cursing coming from the Hecate cabin, were slightly alarming. He’d wanted Will to come back to a romantic I've-totally-not-missed-you picnic, not a minor apocalypse.

Asking Cecil to buy food probably also hadn’t been the greatest of ideas. Cecil had lost the list Nico had given him, and made up for it by returning with what Nico presumed was half the store. Nico wasn’t sure what he was going to do with the eggplant, and the ice cream was melting.

He was about to insist that Cecil take some of it back when a loud shriek echoed from Cabin Seven. Cecil and Nico both began running, Cecil trailing produce behind him.

Kayla and Austin were crouched awkwardly on top of one of the bunks.

“Spider!” Kayla explained. “It was this big!”

Nico thought she might have been exaggerating but Cecil suddenly seemed shifty.

“It might have been actually,” he said, inching for the door. “Connor’s lost his tarantula.”

Kayla shrieked again, and threw a pillow at Cecil.

“Why are you lot keeping tarantulas?” she demanded.

Nico was only slightly afraid of the potential tarantula, and he wanted Will’s iPod which was the other side of the room. He began picking his way across the paper and sweet wrapper strewn floor. Austin and Kayla were supposed to have been tidying, but he swore the cabin looked worse than it had that morning.

He found the iPod plugged into a set of speakers. He tried to tug it out, but the lead had gotten tangled somehow. When Nico pulled, a wire somewhere in the mess came loose, there was a flash and a spark, and suddenly the whole cabin went dark. 

Kayla was protesting that they wouldn’t be able to see the spider if it snuck up on them, when one of the sparks caught on a bit of paper.

The four of them stared at the small fire in varying amounts of horror.

“At least we can see now, huh Kayla?”

“Shut up Cecil!”

“At least it can’t get worse,” Cecil said.

The sprinklers came on, which did put out the fire but also ruined all the food.

Nico glowered at Cecil.

“I will put my hands up and say that probably was my fault. Famous last words right? But still this time it really can’t -”

Kayla shrieked though Nico wasn’t sure if she was trying to shut him up or had caught sight of the spider again. 

"Look out!" Lou Ellen yelled as she burst into the cabin, brandishing a net at a strange sparking _thing_.

“What is that?” Nico demanded as he drew his sword. The monster was quicker than he expected and he only managed a glancing blow that had glitter raining down over him.

“The fairy lights went slightly wrong,” Lou Ellen admitted.

“Slightly?” Cecil asked in horrified awe.

The five of them watched as the sparkle creature darted around the cabin. Lou Ellen tried lunging with her net, and Nico threw a dagger but the thing was just too quick. It danced and pranced and taunted them as it darted around the cabin, dodging projectiles and increasingly annoyed demigods.

Finally, it grew tired and stopped to rest in the middle of the floor. There was a tense moment where they all studied it, waiting for it, or something else to make the next move.

Kayla, refusing to leave the safety of the top bunk, reached for her bow.

Austin suddenly jumped down from the bed, and at the same time Lou Ellen dived at the sparkly monster. She crashed into Austin, and they fell into Cecil who had been about to throw mango in lieu of a weapon. Cecil lost his footing, and landed awkwardly on his ankle. Kayla let loose an arrow which narrowly missed Nico’s shoulder but did catch the side of the monster. It burst into a rain of glitter that immediately adhered to every surface including the sodden floor and the five demigods.

There was a moment of silence. The cabin was gloomy with all the lights out, soaking wet from the sprinklers and covered in glitter.

Just when Nico was thinking it really couldn’t get any worse this time, the door opened and Will was there, back lit by the afternoon sun and beautiful enough to take Nico’s breath away.

 “Surprise!” Cecil tried weakly.

“What-?” Will asked, stepping inside his cabin with mixed trepidation and amusement.

“I tried to plan a picnic,” Nico explained bitterly. “And the fates punished me for it.”

“Oh Neeks,” Will said. “I didn’t need a picnic. I just wanted to see you.”

Two weeks was apparently all it took for him to forget how incredible Will’s smile truly was. Nico was very aware that there were others in the room, but suddenly he didn’t care and he ran to Will, hugging him tight. 

“I missed you,” he admitted.

Will laughed softly.

“I missed you too,” he replied.

“This is cute and all,” Cecil said. “But I’m in quite a lot of pain down here.”

“Oh gods,” Will said, finally clocking Cecil’s ankle. He rushed over, but halfway he suddenly jumped to the side.

“Is that a tarantula!?”


	2. Coda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little coda because I felt sorry for Nico.  
> Storycubes Thursday cubes: wrapped in cloak, dancing to music, walking
> 
>  

“Where are we going?”

“It’s just a little bit further,” Will answered.

Will had spent the afternoon healing Cecil and helping restore order to Cabin Seven which included bartering with the Hephaestus lot to fix the lights before Chiron found out about Nico’s accidental arson. Then he had turned up at Nico’s cabin and insisted they go for a walk.

He was a little ahead of Nico, pushing through the trees. Nico lagged behind, doing a good impression of a sullen child.

“Not actually an answer to my question,” Nico grumbled, but it was too nice to have Will back to complain too much. It _was_ good to spend time with him, if even the time they spent was traipsing through the woods.

Still there was only so much he was prepared to take, especially when Will was being so mysterious and the branches were scratching at his face.

 “Seriously Will-“

Will turned back to look at him. Nico didn’t think he could ever let Will go away again; he’d lost his imperviousness to Will’s smile in just two weeks. He wondered how long it would take for his heart to stop jumping every time he glanced at his boyfriend.

“We’re here.”

“Can I hear music?”

Will shrugged innocently and stepped aside to let Nico pass.

Nico pushed past him with a theatrical sigh that brought Will’s smile back, so was totally worth it. He found himself in a little clearing, by one of the rivers that crisscrossed the woods. Fairy lights had been strung through the trees, glowing bright against the fading sun. A blanket lay on the soft grass, snacks arranged neatly on top.

“This is my picnic!”

“The others felt bad for you,” Will explained.

“They did all this?” Nico asked.

“While I was fixing Cecil’s foot and you were sulking.”

“I wasn’t sulking.”

“Sure, thing Di Angelo.”

The food was obviously hastily assembled but it didn’t matter.  The picnic was what he’d wanted, what he’d imagined, and though he’d never admit it aloud he thought he and Will might just have some of the best friends in the world.

The evening air began to chill. Nico pushed the remains of the food to the side, so he could put the blanket around his shoulders. Will sat down on a rough swing hung from one of the tallest trees, humming, and swinging gently in time with the radio. He looked more relaxed than he had in a long time and Nico thought going home had done him some good. 

“Shove up,” he said.

“We’re not both going to fit.”

“Are you calling me fat?” Nico demanded.

“I’m saying this swing has seen better days and I’m doubtful it’s going to last with just me.”

But Will shoved up nonetheless, letting Nico sit beside him. Nico pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders and leaned into Will’s warmth.

“I really did miss you,” he said softly.

Will smiled and kissed him.

“I really did miss you too.”

 


End file.
